When Diversity Training Goes Wrong: A Case Study Analysis of the University of Delaware Residential Education Program

In an increasingly global and interconnected world, it is necessary for corporations and educational systems to develop mechanisms for community members to enhance multicultural competencies related to diversity including race, ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, and the like. Some people internalize anger, fear, contempt, and guilt about these issues. As a result, people express their feelings in unhealthy and unproductive ways in school and in the workplace. The solution often is to provide diversity training or sensitivity training. This case study analysis utilizes Kaufman's systemic thinking model to examine what went wrong when one university attempted to implement a yearlong intensive diversity training program that brought national media attention and a potential lawsuit against the university, ultimately resulting in a dramatic shift in the university's out‐of‐classroom experiential learning policies.     

Mastery Learning and Instructional Design Originally published in 1988, PIQ 1.1

Comparisons are drawn between the ideas of mastery learning and those of instructional design. Considerable agreement is noted concerning the main factors contributing to the quality of instruction. Similarities are pointed out in Bloom's alterable variables and a number of the events of instruction described by Gagné. Differences exist in the taxonomic categories of learned performances of the two systems, and in the proposal of instructional design that each category requires a different set of instructional tactics. A noteworthy area of agreement is emphasis on the instructional importance of skill automaticity.     

Connecting Diversity Efforts in the Workplace with Business Mission,Goals, and Objectives

As more attention is given to managing and valuing diversity in the United States workforce, the linking of diversity issues and practices to organizational performance needs must be addressed. In addressing the performance question, this article investigates both the difference between a quick fix and systematic action, and the distinction between a program and a process. A systematic and comprehensive process linked to organizational goals and performance is recommended. Gaps in typical programs and responses are pointed out, and some possible areas for measuring results attributable to valuing and managing diversity are suggested.     

Parental anxiety,language, assertion,and expectation factors in subsequent understanding and recall of assessment information

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between initial understanding of information given by the school psychologist at parent conferences and characteristics of parents (anxiety, parental expectations, assertion, and language level). Demographic variables were also explored as they related to postassessment recall and understanding of data. Results indicated that language level of the parent, age of the parent, and SES were significantly related to recall. Anxiety, assertion, and expectation of results were not significant factors. Implications for practice and training are discussed.     

Views of cheating among college students and faculty

College students (N = 446) and faculty (N = 97) completed a survey examining views of cheating. Agreement was noted on most situations. When differences were noted, students tended to be stricter than faculty in their evaluations and were more likely than faculty to label a situation as cheating. Opinions and views of cheating were influenced more by behavior, whether “premeditated” or “opportunistic,” than by intention.     

Validity of the parenting inventory: Young children

The Parenting Inventory: Young Children (PI) is a rating scale that measures the developmental expectations and behaviors of parents of children who are between the ages of 1 and 4 years, 11 months. Using a representative urban sample of 1,056 mothers, the PI was found to discriminate successfully between parents with children of different ages and to have substantial item-construct correlations (content validity). The PI was not strongly related to the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory, a measure of parenting attitudes (discriminant validity). Reasons for this latter finding are discussed. Potential uses of the PI for practitioners working with parents in the schools are described.